WESTMINSTER — Police on Wednesday ruled out Jessica Ridgeway's parents as suspects in the 10-year-old's disappearance.

"We're confident the parents are not involved in the disappearance of Jessica Ridgeway," Westminster Police Department spokesman Trevor Materasso said at an afternoon media briefing.

"The focus shifts to an unknown suspect, because we think she was abducted."

He said authorities have no specific leads or a composite of who the kidnapper might be.

Police continued to search for Ridgeway on Wednesday, investigating tips and ruling out areas near her home.

Materasso said crews would continue land searches Wednesday and a dive team will continue to search nearby bodies of water as a precaution. He said police are working to rule out possible places Jessica could be.

Members of Westminster Metro Dive Team use sonar to look, Wednesday, October 10, 2012, for missing 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway at Standley Lake. (RJ Sangosti, The Denver Post)

Part of those precautions include some police activity at a nearby landfill. Materasso said police have secured the trash that was collected from the area around the time of the girl's disappearance but are not actively searching through the garbage at this time.

Additional people have been brought on board to handle the large number of tips generated in the case "from across the country" — more than 650 have been received via phone and e-mail, Materasso said. The tips are prioritized and pursued, however, police do not have any updated information on any possible suspects or vehicles that may have been involved.

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There is so much activity today near Witt Elementary School that educators are keeping kids inside.

In response to a question at a midday media briefing, Materasso confirmed that officials are questioning registered sex offenders in the area.

"Sex offenders have been a focus of ours as standard procedure," he said.

Jessica Ridgeway was last seen leaving her home on North Moore Street in Westminster around 8:30 a.m. on Friday. She was to meet up with classmates at nearby Chelsea Park and walk to Witt Elementary, but she never arrived at school that morning.

Her mother, Sarah Ridgeway, a night-shift worker, slept during the day and awoke to find a message that her daughter never made it to school and reported her missing around 4:30 p.m. on Friday.

Police were also asked if they were looking into a possible connection to a child abduction Monday in Cody, Wyo., about 490 miles from Denver. The Cody girl was later released.

Jessica Ridgeway (Handout)

Materasso said they were aware of the case in Cody and were working with a team up there.

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